August 31 - September 5, 2025

Heart Preparation:For over half a year, you have been reading through the redemptive story of God. Maybe it’s become a routine to you, maybe it’s become something that you anticipate every day. Whether that’s your view or not, God longs to be with you every single moment. He wants you to enter into His presence and hear from Him. Yet, we have so many distractions in life that want to pull us away. Whether you’ve consistently kept up with the reading plan, or you have missed days, weeks, or even months, this week is a great opportunity to start again, to enter into the plan, but more importantly, to intentionally enter into the presence of God and be in His Word, the words that point to eternal life.


Weekly Reading:

• Sunday, August 31: Ezekiel 16-17
• Monday, September 1: Ezekiel 18-19
• Tuesday, September 2: Ezekiel 20-21
• Wednesday, September 3: Ezekiel 22-23
• Thursday, September 4: Ezekiel 24-27
• Friday, September 5: Ezekiel 28-31
• Saturday, September 6: Ezekiel 32-34

What to ExpectThis week we will be solely in the book Ezekiel. Ezekiel was taken into exile in the 2nd Babylonian deportation of the Jews (597 BC). Jerusalem had not yet fallen, but Judah was becoming weaker and weaker, and it was only a matter of time before Jerusalem would fall in 586 BC. This week, you are going to continue to be reading God’s warnings to Judah and Jerusalem about the coming destruction that they face because of their sins. God is laying the foundation for why the judgement is coming upon Judah, because of her sins against God. With the coming Babylonian invasion, the people were tempted to run to Egypt for help, and so we also see that God is prophesying against Egypt, as well as other nations, showing that they will not be able to help Judah in this time. God has spoken His word, and it is going to come to fulfillment. Ezekiel is finally informed of this in Ezekiel 33:21-33, as he receives word of the fall of Jerusalem. Yet, at the end of this section, in Ezekiel 34, we see hope as God promises His new covenant with His people, a covenant of peace.


What to Look ForHere are a couple of themes and repetitions that you will encounter through the reading:

• Ezekiel 16: As you read through this, take note of the times that God makes an argument about what He has done for the people. He opens the chapter talking about how He has been nothing but faithful to the people. In verses 8-14, He lists out all the ways that He has been faithful. Then you see the contrast starting in verse 15, with the word but. As faithful as God has been, He now shows how unfaithful the people have been towards Him.

• Ezekiel 17: God speaks through Ezekiel in a parable about two eagles and a vine. Here is a breakdown of the meaning of the parables:
  • The Great Eagle (17:3) = Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon (17:12)
  • Lebanon (17:3) = Jerusalem (17:12)
  • Top of a Cedar (17:3) = Jehoiachin, king of Judah (17:12)
  • Another Eagle (17:7) = Egypt (17:15)
  • Vine (17:6) = Zedekiah, king of Judah (17:13)

• Ezekiel 20: God continues to lay out the offenses that the people have committed against Him. In this chapter, notice the repetition of God’s mercy and grace to the people, as the statement But I acted for the sake of My name. Though the people deserved condemnation, God continued to give them grace and withhold His judgement from them. There was nothing in Judah that deserved God’s mercy, yet He gave it to them solely for the sake of His name.

• Ezekiel 34: God’s issue wasn’t just with the people, but also with the leaders. Those who were entrusted to guide God’s people were failing to do this. God lays out His case against Judah’s shepherds, who were living selfishly and not leading the people in the way God called them to. This is where we see the switch, starting in verse 11, where God starts saying that He will be their Shepherd, He will lead them, and He lists all the ways that He cares for His people.

Personal InsightThis week’s reading has one of my favorite passages, what I consider a challenge in my life. Ezekiel 22:30 states that God is looking for a man to stand in the gap on behalf of the land so that He will not have to destroy it, but He finds none/no one. What a heartbreaking thing. God is looking for anyone who will be obedient to Him, who will stand out from the culture, who will live according to His will and lead His people, but He can’t find a single person. This is the challenge that I see in this passage, I desire to be that one. In my Bibles, I mark out the “n” in “none”, so now it says “none”. My desire is that God will find one. That I will be that one. That, though I may not do it perfectly, I will live for Him, regardless of what the culture says or does. That I will rise up as a leader for His cause, that I will stand in the gap on behalf of my family, my friends, my community, and I will fight for the Kingdom of Heaven.
In 1873 two Christian preachers were talking about a conference they had just attended. Henry Varley said to his new friend DL Moody, “Moody, the world has yet to see what God will do with a man fully consecrated to him.” These words so pierced Moody’s heart that he couldn’t get them out of his mind and said these words to himself, “I will be that man. If God is looking for a man of integrity, a man of honour and courage and faithfulness, with God’s help I will be such a man.”
That is my prayer, my desire, to be the man that God is looking for. I pray that it is your desire as well. That you will answer the call, and God won’t just find one, but He will find many. He will find a body of believers in Southeast Kansas/Southwest Missouri, who will not go with the flow of culture, but will instead stand up for what is right. Are you willing to be that man/woman?
Here’s the other thing too, we will fail. As much as we strive, we will fail. But God sent His Son to ultimately be that man! Jesus is the One who truly stands in the gap between us and destruction. His life, His sacrifice, His conquering the grave, is what allows us to stand before God and not face condemnation. Jesus came and fought the fight that we could never win, and through His work, we are spared from the coming destruction!

PrayerGod, thank you for doing what only you could do! Thank you for sending Jesus to fight the battle that I could never win, so that I can now stand in victory. But God, you are still looking for someone to live for you, to stand in the gap on this earth, to fight for the livelihood of our families and friends. God, the battle is real. Give us strength to rise up and fight. Give us courage to do what we need to do, regardless of the worldly cause. God, help us see the eternal impact of this battle. Prepare me for war daily, as I fight, not in my own power or might, but in the power that you give me!

This week's devotion was prepared by Andrew Peterman